


From "Loser" to "Tiger"

by Movie_Riggs



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Because these two belong together, F/M, Here have this, Kinda not, Trying hard not to get back on that train, kinda pre-relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 16:46:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14573256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Movie_Riggs/pseuds/Movie_Riggs
Summary: Michelle's nicknames for Peter evolve throughout high school, but the one she eventually settles on has a bit of an unusual origin story.





	From "Loser" to "Tiger"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty sure Michelle will never call Peter "tiger" in the movies (nor should she, imo) but I'm all about making callbacks to the comics.

It started around the beginning of sophomore year, if Peter recalls correctly. Though maybe it was before then...it could just as easily have been freshman year; he was never great about remembering things like that. All he remembers is Michelle Jones, sitting five seats down from him and his best friend Ned Leeds, randomly calling them, "Losers." Well, maybe it wasn't _completely_ out of the blue. Specifically, she was calling them losers for ogling Liz Toomes from across the room while she worked on Homecoming decorations. But that was neither here nor there.

On the rare instances when Michelle chose to speak directly to him outside of decathlon practice, he started hearing the term more often. 

"What'd you get for number seven, loser?"

"Hey, loser. Borrow a pencil?"

"What're you looking at, loser?"

That last one was _only_ because he had found himself lost in thought while coincidentally staring in her general direction. Really, it wasn't what it looked like.

At first, Peter thought that maybe he should feel hurt by it. After all, Michelle wasn't the friendliest person ever, heck, some people would even call her "bitchy," though they were usually the people who deserved to be labeled as that themselves. But once he became used to it, it was just another term of endearment; no different than "pal" or "buddy" or "dude."

(And if Peter never once guessed that Michelle was using "loser" as just another disguise to help cover up her true feelings, then that was just fine by her.)

Of course, "loser" could not last forever. Eventually, Michelle became MJ to Peter and Ned, and they started hanging out outside of school. She was one of those people who liked to call everyone by their last name, thus Peter was usually "Parker" and Ned was usually "Leeds," the exception being anytime the situation was somehow more serious, like when Peter called her late at night after having a panic attack or Ned's mom had to go to the hospital for a few days. Peter did not mind this one bit, though he couldn't help but notice that MJ still tended to replace his name with something typically considered demeaning, a lot more often than she would with Ned.

"You dorks seriously saw Rogue One _four times_ at the theater?"

"Hey, nerd. We still on for Thai tomorrow?"

And, once she found out _the secret_ , "Good luck out there, webhead."

Again, Peter figured it was just part of MJ's lingo. He came not just to accept it but to like it; in fact, he came to like everything about her. And if after they became close enough, she started getting into the habit of hugging him goodbye and saying, "Love you, loser," well, Peter wasn't complaining.

(Little did Peter know, that was a big step for MJ, because she was starting to insert into her sentences the one word that "loser" had been meant to disguise was something she felt for him in the first place.)

But, "loser" was never meant to last. Around the time that MJ was owning up to those previously disguised feelings, and Peter was over the moon that she felt the same way about him that he felt about her, nicknames like that were beginning to fade. Just when they were all but gone completely, a new one arose through somewhat embarrassing circumstances.

Junior year, Ned decided to, in his words, "Change things up a bit." Specifically, he signed up to wear the giant, stuffy, faded old tiger costume that was Midtown High's mascot during all the football games, helping to rally the crowd along with the cheerleaders. This resulted in a fair amount of teasing from both Peter and MJ, but eventually they relented, because Ned was hopelessly excited and as a bonus was getting extra time to spend with Betty Brant, one of the cheer squad members.

Then came the first football game of the season, and Ned came down with a serious case of vomiting, some of it from nerves, some of it from bad cafeteria food. The night had begun, the crowd was seated on the bleachers, and the game was minutes away from starting. Midtown High needed its mascot. Peter and MJ were the only ones inside the locker room with Ned, desperately trying to do what they could for him. Finally, Ned shoved the tiger costume's head at Peter, declaring, " _You've_ gotta do it for me!"

Overcome with surprise and stage fright, Peter stammered nervously and tried to offer up any number of excuses as to why he couldn't be the mascot, but MJ grabbed hold of his shoulders, gaining his full attention. "Hey!" she said firmly. "You can do this, Parker. You'll be wearing a mask. No different than Spider-Man. Right?"

It was a _lot_ different from being Spider-Man. He could barely see, let alone breathe. If the costume had a heater (it felt like it did), then it did not have an off switch. Karen was not there to talk him through the rigorous Training Wheels protocol which he had completely skipped, and even if she was, the costume had no web-shooters. Peter may have tripped once or twice. He may also have tumbled into the cheerleaders and ruined part of their routine. But after halftime, he had gotten the hang of it enough to manage to perform a back flip for the crowd, which gained him a lot of points. 

"I had no idea you could do that, Ned," Betty said with a surprised smile and a bat of her eyelashes. Peter nodded his giant tiger head silently, mentally reminding himself to tell Ned that Betty officially had a crush on him. 

When the game was over, Peter ducked behind the bleachers and tore himself out of the costume, sucking in fresh air. MJ and Ned met him outside the field, and they were just making plans to go get ice cream when the distant sound of sirens echoed through the night, and Peter felt a tingle rush up his spine. A look his friends had come to know well-- _I'm so sorry, I have to go_ \--crossed his face. Then, MJ leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his. When she pulled away, she smiled fondly and said, "Go get 'em, tiger."

Somehow, that was the one that stuck. MJ liked to say it and Peter liked to hear it, and it seemed it was meant to last.

"Congrats, tiger. You graduated despite having more tardies than anyone in our class combined."

"Tiger, I seriously can't believe I'm still helping you write your essays in _college_."

"Hell yeah, tiger, I'll marry you."


End file.
